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Address:
100 North Main Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Details:
Online Banking gives you more control of your money. Whether you’re at home, at work, or on the road, you will have unlimited access to your accounts with Wachovia PC Access(r).

I became interested in Wachovia after reading a Consumer Reports article on retail banks. The article gave Wachovia one of the higher ratings for customer satisfaction, so I did some research online about the bank.

Imagine my excitement when I found out that a new Wachovia branch was opening a mile down the road from my home, about a week before Christmas last year (2007). After browsing through their website and reading some reviews on epinions.com, I decided to open checking and savings accounts online, something I had never done (I usually went into a bank in person to open accounts).

The Wachovia website was very intuitive, making it easy to open accounts. The entire sign-up process took less than 10 minutes, and I was issued account numbers at the end. I opened a free checking account (TRULY free meaning no direct deposit or minimum balance requirements) and premium savings account (which was also used as overdraft protection). Talk about quick, smooth and painless!

About a week later, I received some paperwork for my reference (account disclosures) and a signature card that I needed to sign, date and return. A few days after that, I received a box of checks and the next day, I received the check card, which I was able to activate online.

I was somewhat concerned when I had read both on epinions.com and the account disclosure paperwork that customers are limited to two free branch visits and two free phone contacts per month, and anything over that incurs a $2.00 charge. However, it’s my understanding that the bank’s policy has changed regarding branch visits, and customers can visit as many times as needed without incurring a charge. The same doesn’t hold true for phone contacts, though (still limited to two free calls per month). In my situation, I’ve only had to visit the bank a few times since opening accounts. The employees at every Wachovia branch I’ve been to have been consistently friendly and professional. It’s really nice to go inside the bank and be greeted with “Welcome to Wachovia!” When leaving the bank, the doors have the words “Thank you for your business” printed on them. A nice touch, I must say. Also, every Wachovia branch I’ve been to is very nicely appointed inside. For being the fourth largest bank in the country (in terms of assets), the branches have a neighborhood feel to them.

The statements I’ve received from the bank so far have been accurate and error-free. Balancing my checkbook hasn’t been a problem; it usually agrees with the statement.

Wachovia’s online banking not only has an attractive user interface, but is very user-friendly and shows transactions in real time. You can view images of canceled checks, pay bills, order checks, transfer funds from one account to another and send secure messages, among other things.

Wachovia has expanded quite rapidly here in California, especially after they acquired all the World Savings Banks not only here, but in other states across the country. I’ve heard that Wachovia wants to be as ubiquitous as Bank of America.

Wachovia bank branches seem to have the same business hours across the board, i.e., 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturday. They also have the most state-of-the-art ATMs of any bank I’ve known, utilizing touch screens to conduct transactions. Wachovia also has ATMs in many Fresh & Easy grocers here in the Western U.S.

Even though I still have my account with U.S. Bank and they’re not bad, I’ve been finding myself using my Wachovia accounts more and more. In spite of all the negative reviews I’ve read here on epinions.com, my experience with Wachovia has been problem-free since Day One.

One more thing: A couple of days ago, someone from my local branch left me a phone message checking to see if I had any questions or concerns regarding my accounts with them. The caller concluded the message by telling me, “Thank you for banking with Wachovia.” Needless to say, I was quite impressed!